Indian spinner Karn Sharma became the first-ever player in the history of the Indian Premier League to win three consecutive titles after Chennai Super Kings beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final on Sunday.

The first week of Indian Premier League was full of excitement – from last ball finish to the fastest fifty in the history of the Indian Premier League – the first week had it all. Let’s see some of the memorable moments from the first week of the eleventh edition of the IPL.

The eleventh edition of Indian Premier League is just around the corner and the management of each franchise will be analysing their best playing eleven of the team. All-rounders play an important part in any team’s success and that was one of the reasons every team during the IPL auctions spent heavily on all-rounders. Let’s have a look at best all-rounders from each team.

The eleventh season of the Indian Premier League is just around the corner and fans are all excited to see their favourite stars back in their favourite tournament. The extravaganza will kick-off on April 7 and will see the return of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals after a gap of two years.

The tenth season of the Indian Premier League is just around the corner and fans are all excited to see their favourite stars back in their favourite tournament. The extravaganza will kick-off on April 7 and will see the return of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals after a gap of two years.
Wicket-keepers are the key member of any team. However, they are mostly underrated but they can be the biggest difference in the strength and weakness of any team. Let us look at first choice wicketkeepers of every franchise.

The Orange Cap is a cricket award presented to the leading run scorer in the Indian Premier League. It was introduced on 25 April 2008, a week after the start of the inaugural season of the IPL. The batsman with most runs in the tournament during the course of the season would wear the Orange Cap while fielding, with the overall leading run-scorer at the conclusion of the tournament winning the actual Orange Cap award on the day of the season’s final.

To begin with, after retaining Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah as their three players, MI them used remaining two Right To Match (RTM) cards to bring back Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya. Here’s an everything you need to know about Mumbai Indians team.

Team India’s left-handed batsman Shikhar Dhawan was retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad after they opted to use the Right to Match card for him in the Indian Premier League 2018 auction on Saturday in Bengaluru.

Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been one of the most successful bowler from the nation since 2016. With good pace and brilliant ability of yorkers at will in any situation. It is not just him bowling yorkers at will but it is also about producing wickets through those yorkers most of the time.He has been one of the most curious character in the team and recently revealed the story of how Bumrah learned bowling yorkers.

In an episode of What the Duck, hosted by Vikram Sathaye, Bumrah was asked what special he did too learn bowling yorkers so well. Did he do a lot of practise, focus, mental strength like the great Wasim Akram used to do for bowling yorker? Reacting to this, Bumrah replied, “No I didn’t do any of these things. I started my cricket by wathcing television. I used to watch cricket throughout the day, all the time. What I used to do is, I used to watch their videos because they were the bowling kings at that time. So I used to think that they are getting wickets on yorkers. So I aways thought as a kid that if I have to take wickets then yorker is the only option.”

Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has revealed that he was disappointed at being dropped by Mumbai Indians for the final of the IPL against Rising Pune Supergiant. Harbhajan Singh also revealed that the team management did not consult him in their decision-making process like they did in the previous editions. He also spoke on his future in the IPL with the Mumbai Indians.

Speaking to NDTV, Harbhajan Singh expressing his disappointment said, “Obviously frustrating when you’re sitting out and watching the game and it is something which is out of your control. Till last year, I was part of the management that used to pick the playing XI. But this time I needed to spend time with my family. I respect the management’s decision. I won’t cry about this. I am a team man. Mahela (Jayawardene) spoke to me about a lot of right-handers in the Pune team so they want to play a leg-spinner but as an offie most of my wickets in any formats have been right-handers.”

IPL 10’s final surprise at the concluding game was worth the wait, with Mumbai Indians emerging victorious against Rising Pune Supergiants by just 1 run. The tense game had everyone nail-biting at the stands and at home, but there was one person who seemed to be doing her best to keep the team spirit for Mumbai Indians alive, someone who began to be lovingly called ‘Prayer Aunty’ on Twitter. During the turning point of the game, the camera panned onto an old lady praying in silence with her hands together.

Tweets went out everywhere trying to figure out the identity of Prayer Aunty and pointing out to the fact that her prayers were definitely answered. Was Prayer Aunty really Mumbai Indians’ lucky charm? It seemed so, especially at the point when 7 runs were needed off 4 balls for RPS, it had to be some sort of divine intervention if a team somehow wins by just 1 run. Abhishek Bachan came out of nowhere with a tweet revealing the true identity of Prayer Aunty, she was actually Purnima Dalal, the mother of Mrs. Nita Ambhani, who is known by the name ‘nani’. That settles the story of the mysterious spectre known only as Prayer Aunty.

A Twitter user has got most of his IPL final predictions between Rising Pune Supergiant and Mumbai Indians right, raising fresh concerns about match-fixing in the Indian Premier League. The match was played between Rising Pune Supergiant and Mumbai Indians at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, which Mumbai eventually won by a margin of 1-run in a last ball thriller.

The Twitter user going by the name of Cricket Insider made almost every right prediction of the game from the toss, to who will bat first, who will be the highest scorer in the match and which team will win.

His bowlers pulled off an incredible win under pressure and Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma said that he always had faith in his pacers to deliver in a crunch situation in the IPL final.

Rising Pune Supergiant were on course to win the title but the MI pace trio of Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Johnson choked the rivals to script a thrilling win.”There was assistance from the pitch, so it was a matter of exploiting the conditions. When three overs were left, I had confidence in the bowlers. They have always done the job wherever they’ve played. It was about giving freedom to them because they’re the masters and they’ve done it before. I just told them to do whatever they want and set the field accordingly,” MI skipper Rohit said after the match.”There was assistance from the pitch, so it was a matter of exploiting the conditions. When three overs were left, I had confidence in the bowlers. They have always done the job wherever they’ve played. It was about giving freedom to them because they’re the masters and they’ve done it before. I just told them to do whatever they want and set the field accordingly,” MI skipper Rohit said after the match.

Jonty Rhodes, the fielding coach for Mumbai Indians, had a double celebration during the IPL 2017 final. Mumbai Indians won the series after an incredible, nail-biting conclusion versus the Rising Pune Supergiants. But something even more important happened in Rhodes’ life, his wife delivered a baby boy the same day while he was away in Hyderabad for the IPL final. Rhodes, who was obviously overjoyed although probably wishing he was there, still had plenty of celebration to share with his teammates.

His tweet read, “The prize before the prize @mipaltan? Nathan John “plunged” into the world at 6:20pm on IPL final #poolbirth #earthmother #incredibleindia” Jonty’s tweet expressed his love for India, something that is a continuing theme in him and his family’s life. Jonty named their firstborn daughter ‘India’, stating that it was the deep heritage, great people, and rich culture of the country that inspired him to do so. The couple’s daughter was born in April 2015 and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted a good-humoured message to show his support for Rhodes. The tweet read, “Happy Birthday to India, from India :)”. A simple message but well-deserved for someone like Rhodes who has given to the country even more than he has received.

Rohit Sharma is now the only IPL captain to have the tournament 3 times. Mumbai Indians is now the only team to have won the IPL three times and at the half-way stage, almost everyone had written off Mumbai with only 128 on board but Mumbais brilliant trio of fast bowlers pulled back things brilliantly to choke Pune in the end. Heres what Rohit Sharma had to say to Samir Kochhar after the match on Sony Six.

To come and defend like that, I felt it was a great effort from the boys. I think the nerves are still there, the boys did really well. See I think whenever you defend such a total; you need a belief to do it. Against KKR in the last match, we got them out cheaply for 105 so why not here? If we can pull this off together, we can do it easily. In the last three overs, I had confidence in all the bowlers. They always did their jobs for their respective franchise, their countries. Ive given the freedom to them. Theyre the masters of the death bowling and I dont tell them anymore. I just ask the field to set according to the bowling setup. My wifes always nervous during such times but its always great to have her over here. Shes always been a great support to me during such games.

Rohit Sharma is now the only IPL captain to have the tournament 3 times. Mumbai Indians is now the only team to have won the IPL three times and at the half-way stage, almost everyone had written off Mumbai with only 128 on board but Mumbai’s brilliant trio of fast bowlers pulled back things brilliantly to choke Pune in the end. Here’s what Rohit Sharma had to say to Samir Kochhar after the match on Sony Six.

To come and defend like that, I felt it was a great effort from the boys. I think the nerves are still there, the boys did really well. See I think whenever you defend such a total; you need a belief to do it. Against KKR in the last match, we got them out cheaply for 105 so why not here? If we can pull this off together, we can do it easily. In the last three overs, I had confidence in all the bowlers. They always did their jobs for their respective franchise, their countries. I’ve given the freedom to them. They’re the masters of the death bowling and I don’t tell them anymore. I just ask the field to set according to the bowling setup. My wife’s always nervous during such times but it’s always great to have her over here. She’s always been a great support to me during such games.

Mumbai Indians have become the most successful franchise in the history of the IPL, winning their third IPL title, beating Rising Pune Supergiant in the final of the 10th edition of the IPL. It was arguably the most thrilling final in the history of the IPL, as no one could pick a winner till the last ball of the contest. Eventually, Mumbai Indians triumphed with Mitchell Johnson holding his nerves and leading Mumbai Indians to a 1-run victory.

Cricketers reacted to Mumbai Indians victory over Rising Pune Supergiant congratulating them while also offering their commiserations to Rising Pune Supergiant. Here are some of the best reactions:

After winning the toss, Rohit Sharma won the toss and like in a big final, had no hesitation in batting first. There were no changes from both the teams. Mumbai Indians would understand the importance of a big pressure, unlike Rising Pune Supergiant who’re in the 1st final of their second year of IPL. Mumbai Indians got off to a horrific start losing both their openers, Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel within the 3 overs and scoring less than 10 overs. Ambati Rayudu was run out by a magnificent direct hit from Steve Smith but then, the likes of Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard too followed suit to the dug-out. It then took a spirited effort from Krunal Pandya to keep Mumbai in the game and kept scoring at a brisk rate, finding the boundaries at will.

They have done it! Mumbai Indians have become the most successful franchise in the history of the IPL, winning their third IPL title, which no other team has won. Rohit Sharma has become the most successful captain in IPL history, winning his third IPL trophy leading a side. They defended their score of 129/8 brilliantly, winning the match by 1 run. Mitchell Johnson was the hero, defending 11 runs in the final over.

Twitter completely lost their mind, as Mumbai Indians registered a thrilling victory. Here are some of the best reactions:

Year 2010. Occasion – IPL Final. Batsman – Kieron Pollard. Wicket-keeper – MS Dhoni. Forward it seven years down the line and history has repeated itself today in the all-important final between Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiants.

Down the memory Lane: MS Dhoni remains one of the smartest captains around and during his prime back then, he understood it pretty early that Kieron Pollard always preferred to hit it straight rather than square or drive. His favourite hitting positions have been down the ground and the cow corner region. Hence, when Albie Morkel was bowling against Mumbai with Kieron Pollard on strike, he had the fielder, Matthew Hayden at straight mid-off, almost as close to as long off and as predicted, Morkel bowled full, Pollard tried to go down the ground and that resulted in the ball going straight to Matthew Hayden who was fielding there.

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has won the toss and elected to bat first in the final of the 10th edition of VIVO IPL at the Rajiv Gandhi international cricket stadium in Hyderabad. Rohit Sharma and Steve Smith both are excited to be a part of the final and expect their team to do good. Both the teams have gone with an unchanged XI.

Rising Pune Supergiant coach Stephen Fleming has worked hard behind the curtains to bring Pune franchise back on track. His work has been unseen but not ineffective.

But Fleming credits the success of the team to the relationship of MS Dhoni and captain Steve Smith. Speaking to NDTV sports, he said, “Much (has been) made of the relationship. Certainly sitting with them, it has been influential for the youngsters, beneficial for the senior players, and it has been helpful for me. So it has been (a) great dynamic to be part of.”

Fleming backed Dhoni despite the former Indian captain’s slim form with the bat. He said, “Dhoni is one of the most successful players in the last decade to have played. Another opportunity to win the final for him.”

Former Kings XI Punjab opener Virender Sehwag has backed Mumbai Indians to win the 10th edition of the VIVO IPL over Rising Pune Supergiant in the final. It will be clash of the heavyweights in the Maharashtra derby between Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiant at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket stadium in Hyderabad with Pune heading into the match as favorites to register their fourth victory of the season over Mumbai Indians.

It has been nothing short of a remarkable turnaround for the Pune-based outfit, with not many giving them any chance to reach the finals before the tournament started. But Virender Sehwag believes Pune’s incredible run will come to an end at the hands of Mumbai Indians in the final in Hyderabad.

The wait is over. The final of the IPL 2017 is here and two of the best teams are deservingly are a part of it. The war gets intense here and the loser will lose the trophy.

Like always, there will be some interesting man-to-man battle taking place. We look at five key battles in IPL final.

Jasprit Bumrah vs MS Dhoni

Bumrah has been in great form with the ball. The last time when he bowled to MS Dhoni in the first qualifier, he was thrashed by the former Indian captain. Bumrah and Dhoni will again be an exciting contest.

Karn Sharma vs Steve Smith

Steve Smith’s downfall will be crucial for Mumbai Indians in the final. And one man who will be eyeing his downfall is Karn Sharma. Karn has replaced Harbhajan in the playing XI because of his ability to bowl quality leg-spin.

It has all come down to a heavyweight clash between Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiant in the final of the 2017 edition of the VIVO IPL. The battle between the two Maharashtra rivals is an apt final as the two teams have been the best sides in the tournament finishing in the top two spots in the group stages. So it promises to be a match for the ages in the final in the history of the IPL.

The two teams have already clashed three times this season, with Pune winning all the three matches. Mumbai will no be desperate to reverse the trend which has developed this season and would be eager to prove that Rising Pune Supergiant isn’t their bogey team. Both teams will be heavily dependent on a certain set of players to deliver the goods for them in the big clash at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad.

The stage is set for the tenth final of IPL. Mumbai Indians will be eyeing their third title win and Rising Pune Supergiant, on the other hand, will want to end the season and their IPL journey with a IPL trophy in their hands.

While they will try and put their best effort on the field to get to the glory, we look back at all the nine finals and the winners in the last 9 years of IPL history.

IPL 2008, Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings: These two finalists deserved to be in the finals. One was expected for the kind of team it was. The other was not for the kind of team it was. Rajasthan Royals turned the tables in their first IPL journey with a team full of low-key players. CSK batting first could manage163 runs in 20 overs for the loss of 5 wickets. At 42 for 3, RR were nearing a possible end. But Yusuf Pathan willowed 56 off 39 balls to rescue them before Sohail Tanveer hit the winning run off the last ball.

The tenth edition of the VIVO Indian Premier League is drawing towards a close. It has been another eventful two months of thrilling action on the field with some intense cricket being played that has captivated and enthralled the fans to no bounds.

The IPL is one of the biggest stages for up and coming talents to showcase their skills while it also captures the imagination of the viewers by fielding some of the biggest names in the international cricket scenes together. It is obvious that the likes of Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell etc., the superstars, hog all the limelight, but there are players that who go about their work away from the spotlight, players who are equally vital to their team but whose contributions often go under the radar.

The tenth edition of the VIVO Indian Premier League is drawing towards a close. It has been another eventful two months of thrilling action on the field with some intense cricket being played that has captivated and enthralled the fans to no bounds.

The IPL is one of the biggest stages for up and coming talents to showcase their skills while it also captures the imagination of the viewers by fielding some of the biggest names in the international cricket scenes together. It is obvious that the likes of Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell etc., the superstars, hog all the limelight, but there are players that who go about their work away from the spotlight, players who are equally vital to their team but whose contributions often go under the radar.

It was supposed to be a battle between David and Goliath but it isn’t anymore. Rising Pune Supergiant started as the underdog in IPL 2017 and played like one halfway through it but made an impactful comeback with back-to-back wins. Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, played like Champions throughout, losing only to the Rising Pune Supergiant in the league stages. In fact, RPS is the only team in IPL 2017 which has beaten Mumbai.

The two teams each other in the IPL 2017 final for the fourth time this season and the odds have changed. There is no David and there is no Goliath. This is a battle of equals and the one surpasses who surpasses the other, will go onto become the champions of Indian Premier League’s tenth edition.

Mumbai Indians with a highly professional performance with both the ball and the bat have beaten Kolkata Knight Riders in the second qualifier of the 10th edition of the VIVO IPL to reach the final, where they will face off against their nemesis, Rising Pune Supergiant. They chased down Kolkata Knight Riders’ score of 107 in just 14.3 overs with six wickets remaining in their hand.

Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field first, which proved out to be a perfect call by the skipper. Mumbai Indians bowlers, especially Karn Sharma were hugely impressive, never allowing the Kolkata Knight Riders batsmen to get their eye in. They picked up wickets at regular interval from the go and Kolkata never looked to be in command at any stage during their batting performance. Karn Sharma justified the team management’s call to persist with him ahead of Harbhajan Singh, ending with excellent bowling figures of 4-16 in his four overs. He was ably supported by Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Johnson, who respectively picked up 3 and 2 wickets in their spell. Only Ishank Jaggi and Suryakumar Yadav could come to grips with Mumbai’s bowling, scoring 28 and 31 respectively. In the end, Kolkata were bowled out for a meager score of only 107 in only 18.5 overs.

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has won the toss and elected to field first in the second qualifier of the 10th edition of VIVO IPL between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru. Mumbai Indians have made one change to their lineup bringing in Mitchell Johnson for the Mitchell McLenaghan. Kolkata Knight Riders have made two changes bringing in Colin de Grandhomme and Ankit Rajpoot for Yusuf Pathan and Trent Boult.

Kolkata Knight Riders after conquering Sunrisers Hyderabad and mother nature in the eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad will have to start from the scratch again to get a shot at Rising Pune Supergiant in the final of the 10th edition of the IPL. They will feel confident about beating Mumbai Indians in Bangalore having already got a taste of the conditions at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium in their match against Hyderabad.

Kolkata Knight Riders after conquering Sunrisers Hyderabad and mother nature in the eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad will have to start from the scratch again to get a shot at Rising Pune Supergiant in the final of the 10th edition of the IPL. They will feel confident about beating Mumbai Indians in Bangalore having already got a taste of the conditions at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium in their match against Hyderabad.

Mumbai Indians after a brilliant start to the tournament, have lost a bit of steam at the end of the group stages. They squandered a golden opportunity back in their home conditions of Mumbai, coming up with a poor batting display to lose the match against Rising Pune Supergiant.

They will, however, take solace from the fact that they enjoy a brilliant overall record against the Kolkata Knight Riders and have already beaten them twice this season.

Mumbai Indians lost the qualifier 1 of IPL 2017 to Rising Pune Supergiant on Tuesday by 20 runs. They will have to wait to play the second qualifier with the winner of the eliminator game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

MI captain Rohit Sharma after the match looked a little disappointed on having lost the game. He chose very strong words to describe the team’s batting effort, “I think 160 was below par to be honest, having seen the scores chased here. Probably the worst batting performance of this (IPL)season for us.”

Rohit stressed on the lack of crucial partnerships in the middle. He said, “We didn’t have enough partnerships, it’s crucial to get small partnerships in. They bowled well to restrict us and to take wickets in the middle overs.

“The shot selection is very important. You need to understand the situation and the conditions and respect them. You’ve to pick the gaps and take it to the end and we didn’t do that. It’s not the end of the world, we still have one more shot in Bangalore.”

The first qualifier of IPL 2017 between Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiant played at Wankhede saw the visitors rising to the occasions, helped by brilliant performances by MS Dhoni and Washington Sundar.

Pune are through to the finals while Mumbai will wait for the winner of the first eliminator match involving Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The match is set to be a high-octane contest as on one end there will be two-time IPL champions and on the other, the defending champions. One major reason of worry for both the teams is the Bengaluru weather. The clouds have enveloped the city since a last few days and chances are that it could rain on May 17, the match day.

Rain could play spoilsport on May 19 as well which is the date of the second qualifier. There are no reserve days for either the qualifier or the eliminator.

Rising Pune Supergiant performed exceptionally with the bat and the bowl to continue their brilliant form in the tournament to continue their winning streak against Mumbai Indians to reach the final of the 10th edition of the VIVO IPL. They will now await the winners of Mumbai’s second qualifier against either Kolkata Knight Riders or Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final on May 21 in Hyderabad. they won the match by 20 runs against the Mumbai Indians.

Put into bat first, a steady innings by Ajinkya Rahane who scored 56 off 43 deliveries and then an end of the innings assault by Mahendra Singh Dhoni who scored 40 off only 26 deliveries enabled Pune to register a score of 162/4 on the board. Manoj Tiwary also chipped in scoring 58 off 48 deliveries. This was a competitive scored in a pressure game on a pitch which assisted the bowlers.

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has won the toss and elected to field first in the first playoff of the 10th edition of VIVO IPL at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. Mumbai Indians have brought in Parthiv Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga and Mitchell McLenaghan in the squad. Pune have made one change replacing Ben Stokes with Lockie Ferguson.

Bothe teams will be highly motivated heading into the match as the winner would directly qualify for the final and get a shot at winning the IPL trophy. The loser though will still get another shot at qualifying for the finals. Mumbai will be looking forward to avenging the double loss they have endured against their Maharashtra rivals this season. The match also takes added importance as it could well be the last Maharashtra derby contested in the IPL.

Both teams have faced each other four times with Rising Pune Supergiant three of those matches. They also have the edge over Mumbai this season and they have beaten them in both the matches.

The first qualifier of IPL 2017 between Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiant is going to be an interesting battle. These are the two top teams of IPL 2017, placed first and second rank in the points table. While Mumbai has shown that they are very clinical in the way they go about doing their job, Pune are the only team in this edition who have beaten Mumbai twice.

While the two teams will battle it out on Tuesday evening. There will be battles within battles as well.

We look, here, at five key battles which might take place in the first qualifier:

Rohit Sharma vs Adam Zampa

Mumbai Indians captain has struggled against leg-spin in IPL 2017, getting out 5 times to the leggies. Pune might miss Imran Tahir here but they do have Adam Zampa at the helm. Don’t get surprised if you see Zampa coming straight into the attack as soon as Rohit Sharma comes out to bat.

Mumbai would get back to their regular openers Parthiv and Simmons, and the duo would want to give them another flying start. But the home team can bring in Ambati Rayadu, in place of an out of form Delhi-lad Nitish Rana, to play at the one-down position.

Their bowlers, who leaked over 200 runs in their last home game, will have to put up an improved show. The team is likely to open their attack with Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga and Kiwi Mitchell McClenghan. Jasprit Bumrah has been their best death over specialist and along with Hardik he will have to play a key role to restrict the Pune line-up, which boasts of some big names.

Pune, who decimated Kings XI Punjab by nine wickets to finish on the second spot, will take confidence from that game. Their pacers Jaydev Unadkat (21 wickets), Shardul Thakur (8 wickets) and Dan Christian (9 wickets) have been impressive and regularly taking wickets.

The trio will need to strike once again to restrict Mumbai and also require support from Australian leggie Adam Zampa.

So the penultimate stage of the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League is right before us, as the table-toppers Mumbai Indians are scheduled to play their inter-state rivals Rising Pune Supergiant on 16th of May at Wankhede Stadium. With that being schemed up, the eliminator will be played between the defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad and an all-confident Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The first finalist will be announced by tomorrow itself, however, the second team to reach the ultimate stage will be announced on Friday – where the losing side between Mumbai and Pune will lock horn against the winning side of the eliminator, i.e., winner between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Furthermore, if history is to be believed, Mumbai Indians, this season, will fail to lift the crown, even though they have held their heads high and are certainly the firm favourites to lift the crown. While Rising Pune Supergiant will run away with the title in their final season of the league.

Delhi Daredevils mentor in IPL 2017 Rahul Dravid is disappointed with the team’s performance in the tournament and feels that their inability to win from crucial positions of the game made the whole difference.

He said after Daredevils loss to RCB on Sunday night, “We were unable to win a lot games from close situations and that proved to be our downfall this season. It is important to win these kind of games in the IPL and we could manage just 2-3 wins from those positions.”

“We kept losing wickets at regular intervals and the pressure of the required rate got to us. RCB bowled really well and we were unable to finish the game,” he concluded.

Dravid also said that the lack of experience in the batting lineup did not help the team. He said, “We lost (Quinton) De Kock and JP (Duminy) before the tournament and as a result, our batting line-up was quite inexperienced when compared to other teams. They are really good players of this format and it was too late for us to find good replacements for them.”

Kolkata Knight Riders lost their last home game against Mumbai Indians by 7 runs and due to this loss, they see themselves now at number 3 position in the IPL points table. Trent Boult, who played for KKR on Saturday said that the batters let the team down.

He said, “We didn’t probably bat enough but they bowled pretty well on a wicket that offered a little bit of pace, variation and bounce and luxury bowling second, you can put the pressure on opposition, click wickets and it becomes very hard for the opposition side to push on a side to a decent total.”

KKR has restricted Mumbai to a total of 173 runs but lost their momentum completely while batting.

“Ideally, in this format momentum is a big thing and you want to win as many games as you can. Unfortunately, it didn’t pan our way. We had hurdles in the last couple of games. We know we have to pay good cricket from now on. Every game is a tough game. It’s a must win game obviously so the pressure is on us to deliver and unfortunately we were just a bit off the mark today,” said on the challenges of keeping winning in IPL.

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma lost his cool in the second innings of the game against Kolkata Knight Riders when a crucial decision did not go in his favour. Mumbai Indians had posted a target of 174 runs for KKR to chase down and the visitors started off well defending the total, picking Sunil Narine and Gautam Gambhir cheaply.

KKR were soon struggling at 126 for 5 with Manish Pandey and Colin de Grandhomme at the crease. Manish Pandey then nicked one into the hands of wicketkeeper Ambati Rayudu off Mitchell Johnson and the whole Mumbai Indians team appealed in unison. However, this strong appeal had no effect on umpire S Ravi who turned it down. This decision irked the Mumbai Indians players as it looked like a clear edge. But the decision had been made by then.

After winning the toss, Gautam Gambhir had no hesitation in putting Mumbai Indians to bat first. Kolkata Knight Riders had never lost at home in a chase since 2012 and of course, the way they’ve been chasing this season, Gambhir was never going to miss out on the chance of chasing yet again. Mumbai Indians made an overhaul of their squad, bringing in as many as six changes to the team. Sourabh Tiwary, Ambati Rayudu, Tim Southee, Mitchell Johnson, Krunal Pandya were in for Mumbai Indians while the likes of Bumrah, Malinga were rested, keeping the play-offs in mind.

Ambati Rayudu and Sourabh Tiwary were one of Mumbai’s best performers in the initial years of IPL and were batting together after a long, long time. Yet again, they put on a solid partnership at the top of the order after Simmons fell. While Tiwary got to his fifty at decent knots, Ambati Rayudu scored at a rapid rate and ensured that Mumbai posted an above par score.

Mumbai Indians have beat Kolkata Knight Riders in a clash of the heavyweights in Kolkata, cementing their top spot in the table. Mumbai Indians are now guaranteed to head into the IPL playoffs being guaranteed two shots of qualifying for the final.

Kolkata Knight Riders, on the other hand after a brilliant tournament so far, will have to win two games now to qualify for the finals. They have played all their matches and with 16 points and will not finish any higher than the second spot in the table. They could also finish fourth if Rising Pune Supergiant win their match against Kings XI Punjab tomorrow.

The match between Rising Pune Supergiant and Kings XI Punjab has now turned out to be the biggest match of the tournament so far. The team which wins the match will qualify for the playoffs. If Rising Pune Supergiant win the match, they are guaranteed to finish second. If Kings XI Punjab win and win with a big margin, they could pip Kolkata Knight Riders for the third spot.

Rohit Sharma wanted his bench to be tested today and hence made six changes to the playing XI. Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu got a game today as well. Two young turks who evolved to playing for the national side due to their incredible performances for Mumbai Indians back in 2008-09, were once again in the middle of a partnership and made individual fifties. But it was Ambati Rayudu’s strike rate of 170 and 6 biggies that propelled Mumbai Indians to 173. The average score here is 160 and hence, Mumbai Indians can pat themselves on the back for a half job well done. Now, the other half is to defend this down. Meanwhile, here’s how Twitter reacted to it.

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir has won the toss and elected to field first in the 54th match of the IPL between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Mumbai Indians are in desperate need for some momentum having lost their last two matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab. Kolkata too were handed a defeat in their last match against the Kings XI Punjab. Both teams will now be looking towards heading into the playoff with a win under their belt.

In the head-to-head records between two of the biggest teams in the IPL, Mumbai Indians hold a clear edge over Kolkata Knight Riders. In the 19 matches contested between the two teams, Mumbai have won 14 with Kolkata only having won 5.

Kolkata Knight Riders will host table-toppers Mumbai Indians in the 54th match of the IPL at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata to decide who will top the table in the IPL-10 group standings. The match is also important for Kolkata Knight Riders as they are still in danger of missing out on a playoff spot.

Mumbai Indians are in desperate need for some momentum having lost their last two matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab. Kolkata too were handed a defeat in their last match against the Kings XI Punjab. Both teams will now be looking towards heading into the playoff with a win under their belt.

Kings XI Punjab have won an absolute thriller of a contest against the Mumbai Indians in the 51st match of the IPL to keep their playoff hopes alive. First, they registered a massive 230 runs on the board due to a blistering by Wriddhiman Saha. Mumbai Indians almost chased the score down in what was a batting paradise at the Wankhede Stadium, but the score was too much for the Mumbai Indians to chase down in spite of the best efforts of openers Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel at the start and Kieron Pollard at the end. Mumbai Indians could only score 223/6 in reply, losing the match by 7 runs.

Mumbai won the toss and elected to field and Wriddhiman Saha, who was promoted up the order immediately made them pay by scoring a brilliant 93 off just 55 deliveries. he was ably supported by captain Glenn Maxwell who scored a quickfire 47 off 21 deliveries. With their efforts, Punjab set Mumbai Indians an almost impossible score to chase down.

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has won the toss and elected to field first in the 51st match of the 10th edition of the IPL between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. Kings XI Punjab have brought in Ishant Sharma for Swapnil Singh. Mumbai Indians have named an unchanged lineup for the match.

The match is a must-win encounter for Kings XI Punjab to keep their playoff hopes alive. Not only do they have to win the match, but they will have to win it with a handsome margin to boost their net run rate. Mumbai will also be looking forward to regaining some lost momentum, after losing the match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. They will be looking forward to get back to winning ways as another loss could really lead to a loss of confidence heading into the playoffs.

Kings XI Punjab will take on table-topper Mumbai Indians in their own backyard in the 51st match of the 10th edition of the IPL in what is a must-win encounter for the Punjab-based outfit in order to keep their playoffs hopes alive. Mumbai will also be looking forward to regaining some lost momentum, after losing the match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. They will be looking forward to get back to winning ways as another loss could really lead to a loss of confidence heading into the playoffs. Not only will Punjab have to win the match, but they will have to win in handsomely in order to boost their net run-rate.

Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad comfortably beat Mumbai Indians by 7 wickets to knock out Delhi Daredevils in the process. For DD to have any shot of qualifying, they needed Mumbai to win but instead, they see themselves crashing out of the tournament after having a wayward season.

After electing to surprisingly bat first, Mumbai Indians were struggling on what seemed to be a tricky Rajiv Gandhi International stadium pitch in Hyderabad. The star of the show in the last match, Lendl Simmons fell pretty early and from there on, Rohit Sharma carried out the responsibility of holding the fort at one end as wickets kept falling at regular intervals at the other end. Even the likes of Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard didnt get going and eventually, Mumbai Indians were bowled out for 138 in their 20 overs quota.

Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad comfortably beat Mumbai Indians by 7 wickets to knock out Delhi Daredevils in the process. For DD to have any shot of qualifying, they needed Mumbai to win but instead, they see themselves crashing out of the tournament after having a wayward season.

After electing to surprisingly bat first, Mumbai Indians were struggling on what seemed to be a tricky Rajiv Gandhi International stadium pitch in Hyderabad. The star of the show in the last match, Lendl Simmons fell pretty early and from there on, Rohit Sharma carried out the responsibility of holding the fort at one end as wickets kept falling at regular intervals at the other end. Even the likes of Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard didn’t get going and eventually, Mumbai Indians were bowled out for 138 in their 20 overs quota.

After winning the toss, everyone were taken aback by Rohit Sharma’s decision to bat first, and when he went on to explain he did so for giving everyone a good batting practice because they’re already through to the play-offs, it has started making lesser and lesser sense. Right from the top with Simmons departing early to Mohammad Nabi, who was brought in for Kane Willamson today, the collapse had begun. A couple of partnerships stiched here and there hasn’t helped Mumbai much and they’ve been bowled out for 138 in 20 overs. Here’s how Twitter reacted to the same.

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has won the toss and elected to bat first in the 48th match of the 10th edition of the IPL at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. Mohammed Siraj comes in for Ashish Nehra and Mohammed Nabi comes in for Kane Williamson. Mumbai Indians have named an unchanged lineup.

Sunrisers Hyderabad faces a must-win game against Mumbai Indians as they have lost their early momentum from the tournament with back-to-back losses and face a real task on their hands to qualify to stay in the top 4 spots of the table to qualify for the playoffs. Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, have already qualified for the playoffs and will now be looking forward to qualifying in the top 2 so that they get the insurance of an extra match in the playoffs.

The defending champions have been going through a turmoil currently as they have lost back to back games. In their next game against Mumbai Indians, they will have an uphill task to overcome.

Hyderabad, currently placed fourth on the points table with 13 points, need to win its remaining two matches to completely seal their play-offs berth.

The middle-order batting has been a point of bother for Sunrisers and they need to address it if the team has to win tomorrow’s match against Mumbai.

Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, have already qualified for the play-offs, but remains focused on getting the most from its remaining league games. MI has been in sublime form and their massive 146-run win over Delhi Daredevils last night has only cemented their position at the top.

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has backed Mumbai Indians batsman Nitish Rana’s selection in the Indian T20I squad in the near future, hailing the batsman as a ‘promising talent’. Ponting worked with Rana when he was the coach of the Mumbai Indians for the last couple of seasons before Mahela Jayawardene took over the post.

Praising Rana and backing his potential selection in the Indian squad, Ponting told Cricket.com.au, “He`s got a very good domestic record in one-day and four-day cricket. I wouldn`t be surprised to see him in an Indian T20 squad, because that`s generally what they like to do, like with Hardik Pandya; he had a few outstanding performances in the IPL (and was picked). So I wouldn`t be surprised to see him in a T20 team or even a one-day team as well.”

Mumbai Indians handed a humiliating defeat to Delhi Daredevils, slaying them at their den at the Ferozshah Kotla by 146 runs, hereby the biggest ever margin of victory of runs in IPL history, beating RCB’s 144-run victory against Gujarat Lions last season. Mumbai Indians also became the 1st team to officially qualify for the playoffs this season.

After winning the toss, Zaheer Khan, who made his comeback in this match decided to field first with Mumbai Indians making two changes. Harbhajan Singh and Lendl Simmons were in the team in place of Krunal Pandya and Jos Buttler, and both of them turned to be key elements in orchestrating Delhi’s downfall. Mumbai Indians were at their intimidating best with the bat by sending in Kieron Pollard at number 3 after Lendl Simmons, who was playing for the 1st time this season after being a vital part in the last season, had yet again scored a free-flowing 50.

Delhi Daredevils captain Zaheer Khan has won the toss and elected to field first in the 45th match of the IPL between Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi. Delhi make one change with Zaheer himself coming back for Shahbaz Nadeem. Mumbai Indians team have made two changes. Jos Buttler is out for Lendl Simmons while Krunal Pandya’s place is taken by Harbhajan Singh.

Delhi Daredevils have seen a surge in their performances in the last two matches. From being at the bottom of the table, they have shown that they have the ability to get to the top. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians have become almost unbeatable this year, losing just 2 games out of 10 they have played thus far. Both these sides have met once this season and it was Mumbai who had the last laugh in that match. the current form of both teams makes this a fascinating encounter.

Top of the table, Mumbai Indians will face an in-form Delhi Daredevils at the Ferozshah Kotla Stadium. After the debacle against Kings XI two games earlier, the Delhi Daredevils have found an extraordinary zeal about them. Most of the attributes should go to their middle order who chased down two high scores in the two games. The pair of Sanju Samson and Rishab Pant came along like a wrecking train and buried Gujarat Lions to dust, making a mockery of a 200+run chase before the 18th over. Here are some of the numbers that you can look forward to before the famed rivals, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils lock horns tonight:

Delhi Daredevils have been on a surge in the last two matches. From being at the bottom of the table, they have shown that they have the ability to get to the top. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians have become almost unbeatable this year, losing just 2 games out of 10 they have played thus far. Both these sides have met once this season and it was Mumbai who had the last laugh in that match.

On Saturday, the two sides will take on each other one more time and this time around more pressure will be on Delhi as every game is a knockout game from them. Mumbai Indians can relax a bit but only a bit. They are at the top of the table and considering their current form, it is easy to say that they will start as favourites.

Mitchell McClenaghan, Mumbai Indians and New Zealand fast bowler engaged in some friendly banter with Harbhajan Singh on Twitter. McClenaghan has been one of Mumbai’s unsung heroes in the past couple of seasons since he’s come on. As far as his game on Twitter goes, you can guess it from his handle which is mitch_savage. And savage it was, when he responded to Harbhajan Singh’s cryptic tweet. Here’s what had happened:

The Indian Premier League 2017 action hottens up as we enter the business stages of the tournament, the playoffs! So far, only Mumbai Indians has qualified into the play-off stage, accumulating the required 16 points in the IPL points table. They’ve played just 10 games so far and has been the team to watch out along with Kolkata Knight Riders until KKR’s latest results.
To knock Mumbai Indians from the porch is going to be a huge task for the other teams as they’ve looked the least beatable side so far. Right from their top order clicking to having the best death bowler in this IPL so far in the name of Jasprit Bumrah, everything has gone their way.

Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman AB de Villiers has said that his team has been below par in IPL 2017. Speaking at a promotional event, he said, “Unfortunately, this year we haven’t played well as wanted to but I think there are some valuable lessons we have learnt throughout the season. I think we have let ourselves down a little bit in the last few games by not competing as well as we would have wanted to.”

‘Want to finish the tournament with dignity’

The South Africa captain added that they might have lost on the opportunity to in the title but they are still focussing on ending the tournament on a high so that they can come back next year strongly. He said, “(Last evening vs MI) I thought we were right in the game. Which was great and that is the kind of thing you want, that you want to compete. I was hoping we could somehow find a way to pull it through but it wasn’t meant to be. We have a few more games left and hopefully will finish the season with dignity.”

In another dent to Virat Kohli and his team’s confidence, a well-constructed Rohit Sharma innings guided Mumbai Indians to a victory and straight to the top of the table and the 1st team to qualify for the play-offs of the IPL 2017. After winning the toss, Virat Kohli chose to field first as he field that at the Wankhede, batting would be better in the 1st innings than 2nd innings. But the plan started backfiring on him as the middle order yet again did not fire. AB de Villiers though was batting splendidly before perishing to Krunal Pandya for the 4th time, the most he’s been dismissed by a bowler in the IPL. Kedar Jadhav and Pawan Negi played some really good cameos to propel RCB’s score to 162 in their quota of 20 overs.

AB de Villiers is hailed as the best batsman in world cricket right now. Not many bowlers can get better of him. He can hit even a yorker for a six. But someone called Krunal Pandya believes otherwise.

On Monday against Royal Challengers Bangalore, in the 38th match of IPL 2017, Krunal Pandya picked AB de Villiers for the fourth time in the tournament, making the great South African batsman his bunny.

A stat reveals that Krunal has bowled 32 deliveries at De Villiers and has conceded just 33 runs. In the process, he has picked him 4 times which is a great achievement to have in your record books.

De Villiers averages just 8.25 against Krunal while his strike rate is a meagre 103.13. These numbers are disrespectful to a batsman of such high class.

Taking a bold decision of batting first in front of a deadly bowling attack of Mumbai Indians, the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore scored a respectable total of 162 runs in the allotted 20 overs. The decision was quite a surprising one, but looking at the fact that Mumbai lost out at Wankhede while chasing the total against RPS, might have rotated in the head of Virat Kohli. Furthermore, history is evident that RCB are one of the poorest team while chasing the milestone.

They had quite a stable start to their inning, considering the fact that their batting order has been consistently inconsistent till date. They did lose both Kohli and Mandeep Singh a bit early, but a stable partnership of AB de Villiers and Travis Head laid down the foundation. Courtesy to an amazing cameo of Pawan Negi, the visitors set a respectable 162 runs on the board.

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has won the toss and elected to field first in the 38th match of the IPL between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Virat Kohli feels that the day wicket is an ideal situation to bat first. Virat says that they’re still finding the right combinations and momentum. Three, Shane Watson comes in for Samuel Badree. Mandeep Singh and Aniket Chowdhary come in for Sachin Baby and Stuart Binny. Mumbai Indians too made a change. Harbhajan Singh has a nerve issue and sits out. Karn Sharma has come in to replace him.

All but out of contention for the playoffs, Royal Challengers Bangalore would look to salvage a difficult season by sorting out their batting woes when they take on Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League match here on Monday.

Mumbai are on the second spot in the IPL standings with 14 points, while Bangalore are second from bottom after having won just two of their 10 games. Mumbai Indians have won seven of their nine games so far and are in contention to make it to the play-offs. When the two sides meet at the Wankhede stadium, the hosts will have a distinct upper-hand as they have just lost one game at the venue.

Rajkot was treated to a fairy-tale story as they witnessed the 1st ever Super Over of this season, 1st for Mumbai Indians and 7th overall but unfortunately, it was not their side that got over their line. Jasprit Bumrah further underlined the prowess you’ve made as a death-overs specialist with an action-packed Super Over to take Mumbai.

After winning the toss and electing to field first, Gujarat Lions brought in Irfan Pathan today. Irfan was brought in the Gujarat Lions’ squad as a replacement for the injured Dwayne Bravo and even though Pathan didn’t come in that handy with the bat, it was his fielding that gave Gujarat Lions a crucial turn-around during the closer stages of the match. Ishan Kishan played brilliantly at the top of the order again as Gujarat Lions finished their quota of 20 overs with 153.

No one could have expected any less than a victory on your birthday. Be it taking out your parents, be it buying yourself a gift or be it taking your girlfriend out for a date. But Rohit Sharma is the luckiest guy. On the stroke of his birthday, when the clock just about struck 12 am and he turned 29, Jasprit Bumrah bowled one of the best death overs to give Rohit the best birthday gift. In the post-match interview, here’s what the excited birthday boy Rohit Sharma had to say.

We are in for the first super-over in the 10th edition of the IPL, as Gujarat Lions and Mumbai Indians have seen their scores level after some intense drama and exceptional cricket. Both teams have posted a score of 153 on the board and a super-over will decide the fate of the contest.

Twitter has exploded as the fans will get to witness the first super-over in IPL 10.

Gujarat Lions captain Suresh Raina has won the toss and elected to bat first in the 35th match of the IPL at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot between Gujarat Lions and Mumbai Indians. Irfan Pathan has come in place of Nathu Singh for Gujarat. Mumbai have made two changes bringing in Krunal Pandya in place o Karn Sharma and Lasith Malinga in place of Mitchell Johnson.

In their first meeting at the Wankhede stadium, Mumbai chased down Gujarat Lions’ score of 176 due to the efforts of Nitish Rana, who has been one of the finds of the season. Last season, Gujarat were triumphant in both the encounters.

Gujarat Lions will host Mumbai Indians in their home venue at Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium in Rajkot with heavy onus on their batsmen to fire in order to guide them to a victory. It has been a largely miserable season for Gujarat so far, but after their victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore, they will look forward to building upon the momentum to boost their slim chances of making the playoffs spot.

Mumbai’s season, on the other hand, has gone as per expectations, as one of the pre-tournament favorites have performed with great consistency to all but seal their place in the top 4. They have only lost two matches in the whole season with both defeats coming against their Maharashtra rivals Rising Pune Supergiant. Like Gujarat Lions, Mumbai too will be reliant on their batting lineup on a flat deck in Rajkot but unlike Gujarat, they can bank upon their bowling attack to contain the flow of runs.

IPL 2017 is has seen many epic matches taking place, going to the last over. Also, in this IPL, there is no set formula to win matches. At the start of the league, there were teams which won the matches chasing and then came a phase when the teams were winning defending the total.

It won’t be wrong to say that bowling has been the centre of attraction in this edition. The fact that the top 4 teams are those with a strong bowling line-up justifies the statement.

A look at Points table suggests that two teams have definitely qualified for the playoffs in form of Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders. The two teams are sitting right at the top of the table. KKR with 14 points and MI with 12 points thus far have an equal chance of even lifting the Trophy this year.

We are halfway into IPL 2017. This is the time when the major shift in the tournament happens. Teams which had been winning thus far, begin to lose the game and vice-versa. This is what makes IPL an interesting sight for the viewers and a challenge for the players.

Many stars have already made their mark in the tournament, young and veterans both. Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting came out with his IPL XI thus far. Talking to cricket.co.au, he listed his IPL

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has been fined 50 per cent of the match fee for arguing with the on-field umpire. Rohit was a little upset with one of the decisions by the umpire when a delivery by Jaydev Unadkat was not adjudged a wide.

In the last two overs of the day, Mumbai Indians required 17 runs to win their seventh game on the trot. Rohit Sharma lost his cool and came up to the umpire and argued with him. He was of the opinion that the delivery would have been called wide. However, the umpire said that the right decision was made.

In the same over, the Mumbai Indians captain lost his wicket and the eventually the match by 3 runs. A disgusted Rohit walked back to the dressing room.

Rohit Sharma, later on, admitted that he was involved in an ugly spat with the umpire. He admitted to the Level 1 offence under Article 2.1.5 of the IPL Code of Conduct for Players and Team Officials.

The Mumbai Indians have been one of the top sides in the IPL, both in terms of victories as well as fair play points. However, this one offence wills surely hit their fair play case this season.

Mumbai Indians lost their second match to Rising Pune Supergiant this season. They are still very comfortable as far as qualification to the playoffs is concerned but they would need to come out of the defeat that they got last night at their own den.

Rising Pune Supergiant make it two wins in this season against Mumbai Indians after an emphatic victory by 3 runs. The match went right down to the wire and eventually, Jaydev Unadkat held his nerve against Rohit Sharma in spite of a six off the second ball of the over.

After choosing to field first, Rohit Sharma was forced to make one change by bringing in Karn Sharma, his 1st match of this season for Krunal Pandya who was sick. There was a lot of moisture on the track expected the 2nd half and hence, both the captains wanted to field first. After a great start from Rahane and Tripathi, the Pune middle order fell apart to a disciplined bowling display by Mumbai Indians. Karn Sharma, Bhajji and Jasprit Bumrah kept the screws tight on the Pune batsmen and once Dhoni fell for an 11-ball 7, things started going downhill for Pune. Eventually, they were bowled out for 160, an average score on what you could normally call a batting paradise at the Wankhede.

The Maharashtra derby between Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiant lived up to the hype and was a fiercely contested encounter. The match went into the last over with Rising Pune Supergiant keeping their cool and eventually triumphing. Mumbai needed 17 runs of the final over and with Rohit Sharma on the crease, it looked very much an achievable target. But Jaydev Unadkat turned out to be the hero, to lead Pune to a 3-run victory.

Rising Pune Supergiant have finished at 160/6 at the end of 20 overs against Mumbai Indians. On the day of Sachin Tendulkar’s birthday, it looks like Mumbai Indians now hold the advantage. It’ll also be their 7th win on the trot, which will be their personal best streak ever if they manage to beat Pune and will also avenge their only loss this season, which came at Pune in the first game for both these franchises. After a steady start at the top of the order, Mumbai’s bowling came back strongly in the match and ensured that the middle order didn’t get settled in. Here’s how Twitter reacted to the 1st half so far.

Sachin Tendulkar, the favorite son of Mumbai is celebrating his 44th birthday today. No one in the history of the game of cricket has given more joy to the City of Dreams than Sachin. His exploits for India helped the city to realize a million dreams and helped him solidify himself as the greatest player in the history of Indian cricket.

On his 44th birthday, Mumbai Indians are playing the Maharashtra derby against Rising Pune Supergiant at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. Sachin is present at the game in his capacity as a mentor of the Mumbai-based franchise, with whom, Sachin has been closely associated with in their 10-year history. He has played for the franchise, winning the IPL title and has also served them in his role as a mentor and as an ambassador.

It was then to be fairly expected that the jam-packed crowd at the Wankhede stadium would come up with a special gesture for the little master.

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has won the toss and has elected to field first in the Maharashtra derby in the 10th edition of the IPL at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. He says that there’s a little bit of dew and that helps in making the decision a little more easier. Steve Smith too felt that because of the moisture, it would have been nice to field first. Rohit Sharma is proud of his team, defending 140 odd in the last match and is happy with the execution of his team.

It would not be justified to call Mumbai and Pune neighbours. Two cities set apart from each other by 149 kms to be exact. However, the IPL 2017 table suggests that the two teams are at a huge distance from each other, in terms of points needed to qualify for the playoffs.

Rising Pune Supergiant have won 3 games and lost 3 thus far. While on the other hand, Mumbai Indians have won 6 games, all in the single run. Indians sit at the top of the table and Pune, justifying their name, are slowly and steadily rising to the top.

The only game that Mumbai Indians have lost in IPL 2017 was their first game, where they lost to Pune. The visitors lost track after a brilliant start in the tournament. While Mumbai made amends quickly. They now meet again and this time, teams know their current form, they can better assess each other. This whole scenario makes this game very, very interesting.

Head to head

Mumbai and Pune have met each other thrice out of which Pune has won 2 games. Mumbai are slightly behind in the head to head match up but it would not be unfair to say that today might be the day when they are going to equalise.

Probable XI

Mumbai Indians do not have any issue with their playing XI. It does not look like that they are going to bring too many changes in the team. They have the arguably best bowling line-up in the tournament and batsmen too are in form, except captain Rohit Sharma who has been a terrible sight to watch in front of leg-spinner, getting out four times to them in the tournament.

Mumbai Indians have gone on to win their 5th consecutive victory on the trot after beating Delhi Daredevils by 3 wickets in Match 25 of the Indian Premier League. In the end, Mitchell McClenaghan’s spell of 4/20 proved to be too much for Delhi as their horrendous collapse at the top left them reeling at 6-24 at one stage. But a spirited fight from the pair of Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris kept them at bay for a while before and there was too much to play with too less a wicket remaining. Here are the Sportswallah player ratings for this match.

Winning the toss, the Delhi Daredevils’ skipper Zaheer Khan opted to bowl first and his visiting team did have a dreamy start after getting the better Parthiv Patel, Jos Buttler, Rohit Sharma and Nitish Rana early in the game, but a steady inning from Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya and Hardik Pandya helped Mumbai Indians to net a respectable score of 142.

Only four maximums were shot in the first inning and almost every single spectator hailed Delhi’s bowling brilliance and quite rightly so, as dismissing some of the best names of the industry is never an easy task.

To chase down the total of 142 – fairly speaking – is never a laborious task, and both of Delhi’s openers stepped onto the field thinking the same. But Mitchell McClenaghan and Mitchell Johnson had other ideas. Dismantling the opening order of the visitors, Mumbai’s bowling lineup soon gained a positive momentum and even though Rabada and Chris Morris tried to steady the ship, it was too little too late for them. Eventually, the home side Mumbai Indians won the game by 14 runs, and this is how the Twitteratis respond:

It looked like DD were happy with their bowling but their batting took the exact opposite route, collapsing to the might of the two Mitchell’s, McClenaghan, Johnson and Jasprit Bumrah. The collapse triggered from Aditya Tare’s wicket, who was ironically one of Mumbai Indians’ find in the initial phase of IPL’s inception. Mitchell McClenaghan has been the star of the show so far, raking up 3 wickets in his quota of 2 overs and giving away just 7 runs. Harbhajan, Pandya have registered their names on the board with a wicket each. Here’s how Twitter lost its mind over Delhi’s shocking collapse.

Winning the toss first, Delhi Daredevils’ skipper Zaheer Khan won the toss against Mumbai Indians and elected to field first, which might prove to be an amazing decision.

The home, coming out to bat, lost their first wicket in Parthiv Patel after he failed to respond to the brilliance of Kagiso Rabada. Jos Buttler, Nitish Rana and Rohit Sharma soon followed Parthiv to the pavilion. Pandya brothers tried to steady the home cruise, but Daredevils’ beam proved too hot to handle. Both Amit Mishra and Pat Cummins bagged two wickets each giving away just 18 and 20 runs respectively in their four allowed overs.

In the match between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils, Zaheer Khan has won the toss and elected to field first! Delhi have made three changes with Kagiso Rabada making his IPL debut. Jayant Yadav, Angelo Mathews and Sam Billings have been left out of the squad. Mumbai Indians are playing Mitchell Johnson. MI were the first team ever to have not played a player from the auction this year but that streak has come to an end with Mitch making his comeback to the team. Lasith Malinga has been left out because he was under the weather, according to Rohit Sharma. Mumbai gets the service of Mitchell Johnson back. Let’s not forget that Mumbai Indians was the primary reason why Mitch could show his true beastly self in 2014 before he was picked up for the Ashes tour the following season where he wrecked havoc.

Mumbai and Delhi share a special rivalry. When they contest with each other in IPL, the hype is even more. These are the two most popular cities in India and when they play each other, emotions are high.

On Saturday, when Delhi Daredevils clash with Mumbai Indians, it will be two Mumbai players against each other. One former, and one present. And both on will be the verge of creating records as well.

Let us look at some of the records which could go for a toss in today’s game:

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma is just 77 runs short of completing 4000 runs in Indian Premier League. The right-handed batsman got his form back in the last game against Gujarat Lions, where he hit a 40-odd.

Zaheer Khan has taken 99 IPL wickets thus far and is just one wicket short of completing 100 wickets. The Delhi Daredevils captain is in good form with the ball and it will be interesting to see how quickly in the game is he able to get the record to his name.

Delhi’s Karun Nair also is nearing a landmark in IPL as he is just 65 runs short of completing 1000 runs in the tournament. Playing for Delhi, Karun has won many matches for the side and apart from this record, he would like to contribute as much as possible with the bat.

The slinging pace of Lasith Malinga has brought a stir in many batting lineups. If he manages to bowl 6 dot balls, he will become the third bowler in IPL to bowl 1000 dot balls, behind Praveen Kumar and Harbhajan Singh.

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has shocked one and all and has gone ahead and tried to register a FIR in various police stations across Mumbai for his missing talent. But in a massive twist, the police has refused to register Sharma’s complaint, giving the reason that a thing such as Sharma’s talent simply does not exist. Rohit Sharma has visited various different police stations, including Kanjurmarg,

Rohit Sharma has visited various different police stations, including Kanjurmarg, Titwala and Dombivali police station but his efforts so far has gone in vain. Ever since he broke through in the Indian cricketing circles, Rohit has been lauded for his exceptional talent, especially by Sanjay Manjrekar and Ravi Shastri. But most people in the country have failed to see that talent materialize into something substantial.

At the half-way stage, Hashim Amlas brilliant century would have put Kings XI in a winning position but once the pair of Nitish Rana and Jos Buttler stepped their foot onto the ground, a mauling followed and Kings XI were left reeling, shattered and battered with MI winning comfortably by 8 wickets with stunningly, 27 balls still left to go. Mumbai Indians keep having different players winning games for them. It started off with Pollard then moved to Parthiv, Rohit and Rana before Jos Buttler joined the bandwagon today.

After winning the toss, Rohit Sharma had no hesitation to field first, going in with an unchanged team. Mumbai Indians have also stood out this season in terms of team combination, keeping the core of the team almost unchanged. Kings XI had a massive overhaul in their team, making four changes.

At the half-way stage, Hashim Amla’s brilliant century would have put Kings XI in a winning position but once the pair of Nitish Rana and Jos Buttler stepped their foot onto the ground, a mauling followed and Kings XI were left reeling, shattered and battered with MI winning comfortably by 8 wickets with stunningly, 27 balls still left to go. Mumbai Indians keep having different players winning games for them. It started off with Pollard then moved to Parthiv, Rohit and Rana before Jos Buttler joined the bandwagon today.

After winning the toss, Rohit Sharma had no hesitation to field first, going in with an unchanged team. Mumbai Indians have also stood out this season in terms of team combination, keeping the core of the team almost unchanged. Kings XI had a massive overhaul in their team, making four changes.

Mumbai Indians, after an assault by Jos Buttler and Nitish Rana and a useful cameo by Hardik Pandya, made an absolute mockery of Kings XI Punjab’s big total of 198. Hashim Amla’s brilliant century was in vain as the Mumbai Indians juggernaut continued and registered their 5th victory on the trot.

Twitter exploded as the Mumbai batsmen went berserk on the Kings XI Punjab bowling attack.

The 22nd match of VIVO IPL 2017 between Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians is expected to be a tough game. These are two sides, possessing some massive names in the squad.

We look at five players who could play a big role for their respective sides today:

Glenn Maxwell: He looked in good form in the first two games but it seems, he has lost the track completely now. Maxwell will have to fire for Punjab if they see their team doing well.

Pandya Brothers: Krunal Pandya and Hardik Pandya cannot be ignored when Mumbai Indians are playing. The brothers have been in good form with both bat and ball and it is expected that they will fire all guns blazing in the game against Kings XI Punjab.

Nitish Rana: Nitish Rana has owned the number 3 position in the batting line-up of Mumbai Indians. He got the Orange Cap for his outstanding performance in the last 5 matches and is expected to remain the top-run getter when the tournament ends.

Kings XI Punjab bowlers: They have disappointed massively in this tournament thus far. The pace trio of Mohit, Sandeep and Ishant Sharma have been ordinary in this tournament and now is the time when they should be on their toes, if Punjab sees a long run in the tournament.

Kieron Pollard: How amazingly Kieron Pollard has arrived on the big stage, making his critics shut up for a while. Pollard bolsters Mumbai Indians’ middle order to a great extent.

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has won the toss and elected to field in the 22nd match of the 10th edition of the IPL between Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. Mumbai Indians have persisted with the same playing XI from the last match deciding not to make a single change in an in-form line-up. Manan Vohra misses the match for Kings XI Punjab with illness. Shaun Marsh, Gurkeerat Singh, Marcus Stoinis and Swapnil Singh come into the side.

Mumbai Indians are currently on a roll, winning matches in style after their unexpected loss in their match of the tournament against Rising Pune Supergiant in Pune. They have really found their groove, winning four matches on the trot. Kings XI Punjab, on the other hand, after a positive start in the tournament, have tapered off and have performed poorly which has led to three consecutive losses away from their makeshift home in Indore. This is the primary reason why they will be delighted to be back in Indore, where they have performed exceptionally well and won the two matches which they have played at the venue.

History reveals that Punjab and Mumbai have won the equal number of matches. They have met each other 18 times in IPL, both winning 9 games apiece. Whoever wins it tonight will get a nod ahead in the tournament.

The main difference which can be seen between those sides who are doing well and those suffering in IPL 2017 is the playing XI. Those with a balanced and well-settled playing XI are topping the table and those who have not yet sorted their playing XI are struggling.

Same is the case with Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab. While Mumbai have a balanced team right now, Punjab are struggling to get the best playing XI for their side.

Having said that, Punjab might not go for any change in this match. Punjab has tried and tested various combinations but the best approach for them would be to stick to the same playing XI. Who knows it might just work for them in the game against Mumbai Indians?

After Tim Southee faced a bit of an emergency situation and had to stop the team bus in order to rush to the loo, Mumbai Indians in order to avoid such a situation have decided to take the field against Kings XI Punjab in Indore wearing a diaper. Southee had earlier been trolled by the entire Mumbai Indians squad for stopping the team bus after he could not control his bowels.

Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab have faced off 18 times in the IPL. Currently level at 9 wins apiece, a win for either side tilts the balance of the head-to-head battle. Mumbai Indians have the momentum with 6 wins in the last 9 matches. But will Glenn Maxwell and company come roaring back tonight?

Here are some statistics which should help both the teams in knowing where lies their strengths and weaknesses:

Kings XI Punjab plays Mumbai Indians today at Holkar stadium in Indore. The two teams are sitting at two contrary ends in the table. Mumbai Indians after having won 4 out of 5 games in this tournament so far is surging head to the playoffs. On the other hand, Kings XI Punjab despite having got a good start, winning their first two games, have lost the track completely. They have lost 3 games on the trot and if the present form continues, expect them to slip further down a dangerous role.

One of the best things which has happened because of the IPL is that it has erased national boundaries between the players. New and deep bondings are being inculcated between players from nationalities in the various different franchises. The atmosphere within the Mumbai Indians camp is no different with players establishing close friendships with each other.

This is perfectly visible from the video which has been released showing the camaraderie in the Mumbai Indians. Tim Southee, the New Zealand pacer found himself in a bit of an emergency situation, which led to him stopping the team bus and running towards the toilet in the middle of the team journey. The whole team finding a great sense of humor in this situation, decided to troll the New Zealander for the peculiar situation he found himself in. Leading the queue to troll him none other than the team captain Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Krunal Pandya. His fellow New Zealander Mitchell McClenaghan too could not resist a dig at him.

Australian legend and former Mumbai Indians coach Ricky Ponting has praised Mumbai Indians players Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard for their performances in the 10th season of the IPL. Pollard and Sharma started the tournament slowly, but have regained their lost touch in the last few matches. Ponting was the coach of Mumbai Indians in 2015 and 2016 and worked closely with both the players.

Praising Kieron Pollard and Rohit Sharma, Ponting told cricket.com.au, “(Pollard and Rohit) are two of the best T20 players the game has probably ever seen.” He then went on to shower Pollard with praises, adding, “The thing I’ve always said about Pollard is ‘it doesn’t matter how many you need, if he’s in at the end with three or four overs to go, you can still always win’. (In 2013) we had a game against the Sunrisers and I think we needed about 80-odd off the last five overs or so (the equation was 79 from six overs). Pollard was in and he got most of them all by himself. It was just incredible power hitting at the end. He times his run really well, he identifies the bowlers he knows he can score heavily off and when he goes about doing that he can be unbelievably dangerous.”

Indian Premier League is seeing some brutal knocks from the batsmen and it has been just few days only since the tournament started.

Apart from these brutal knocks, which obviously, the bowlers have to bear, Mumbai Indians captain, on Sunday himself exerted the blow of a brutal shot by one of the destructing batsmen in Kieron Pollard.

What all happened?

Rohit Sharma was at the non-striking end when a brutal straight drive from Pollard hit Rohit hit in the thighs. Rohit was instantly lying on the ground. Bowler Andrew Tye, tried to run him out but Rohit quickly got his bat inside the crease.

CID has taken the case of Gujarat Lions’ batsman Aaron Finch’s lost kit bag. Finch lost his kit bag just before the game against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede. He was replaced by England opener Jason Roy in the team.

It has been learnt that famous that CID team, inclusing ACP Pradyuman, Inspector Daya and Abhijeet have taken the case in their hands and has also promised Finch that the culprit will be brought in front of him soon.

Finch was devastated on learning that he had lost his kit bag. He was sitting in one corner in dressing room when suddenly ACP Pradyuman came and gave him confidence that he will solve the case.

One being asked how ACP is going to search for the bag, he said, “We don’t reveal our working style as it will give indication to the culprit. However, we have doubts on Jason Roy as he might have stolen it to get a place in the team.”

Abhijeet, too, sounded very confident on finding the kit bag. He said, “We will go and search for the bag in Finch’s room. We know we won’t get any lead at the first time. So, ACP Pradyuman will send us again to his room and then, I am sure, we will be able to find some proof related to the theft as has been the case with all of our past cases.”

Mumbai Indians registered their fourth victory in VIVO IPL 2017 as they beat Gujarat Lions by four wickets at their home ground. MI captain Rohit Sharma finally came into form, hitting a 26-ball-40 to guide his team home.

With this win, Mumbai has now gone at the top of the table. They are yet to lose a game at their home venue in this tournament where they have played 3 games.

Some more stat came flowing in after the match. Let us have a look at all of them:

Mumbai Indians, with the win against Gujarat Lions on Sunday, became the most successful team in T20s in terms of number of victories. They now have 95 victories to their name, surpassing Chennai Super Kings’ 94-win record. MI reached this milestone after playing 167 games while CSK did it in 156 games.

Mumbai Indians all-rounder Hardik Pandya has not yet been dismissed in the tournament thus far. He has scored 35* (15) 29* (11) 2* (3) 9* (4) 6* (3) in five matches he has played. He was there till the end in Sunday’s match against Gujarat Lions as well.

Nitish Rana scored another fifty for Mumbai. A stat reveals that whenever he bats at number 3, he scores a fifty for Mumbai Indians. Not many would disagree that he is going to bat there permanently now, until of course the need to bring the change comes.

Nitish Rana, also, now has the orange cap to his name. He has surpassed Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain Gautam Gambhir, who has scored 182 runs in the tournament, to wear the orange cap.

Munaf Patel last played an IPL game before Sunday’s clash against Gujarat Lions in the year 2013. Same goes for Manpreet Gony, who also played his last game in 2013.

Mumbai Indians romp home comprehensively to a 4th consecutive victory in this season. Since losing to Rising Pune Supergiants in the 1st game, the Mumbai franchise has been on absolute fire, winning their 4th game now by beating Gujarat Lions by 6 wickets. Here are some of the tweets that make perfect sense to the day’s proceedings at the Wankhede Stadium.

Gujarat Lions posted 176 for 4 in their quota of 20 overs against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. Opener Brendon McCullum completed a fifty while wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik played beautifully for his 26-ball-48.

Mumbai Indians have a solid batting line-up and the target of 176 won’t be really making them sweat. However, the pitch is on the slower side today and chasing might become a tad difficult here.

Rohit Sharma, captain of the Mumbai Indians team won the toss and elected to field first against Gujarat Lions in the 1st match today at the Wankhede Stadium. Both the captains, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma agreed upon the pitch looks dry and it might turn a little here at the Wankhede. Head to head, Gujarat Lions have the advantage as they’ve won both the games last season. But Mumbai Indians hold the edge at home as they’ve been unbeaten at home in both the games at the Wankhede this year.

Mumbai Indians bring back Lasith Malinga in place of the Kiwi, Tim Southee. Gujarat Lions make an interesting change. Aaron Finch is out because he’s lost his kitbag and in comes Jason Roy. Munaf Patel gets his 1st game this season in place of Shadab Jakati. Here are the final playing XI of both the teams today.

Mumbai Indians, who are undefeated in home will take on a spirited Gujarat Lions in today’s match at Wankhede. Mumbai are on a roll at home, unbeaten in so far in both the games. Also interestingly, Gujarat Lions have beaten Mumbai Indians both times in the previous year and it’s going to be an interesting game for both the teams. Let’s look at some of the interesting moments that coudl turn today’s game on its head.

Lasith Malinga versus Brendon McCullum

If Lasith is fit today, it’ll be quite a battle to face the ex-Kiwi skipper, Brendon McCullum. Both the players have their own tricks and trades and it’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top.

Gujarat Lions captain Suresh Raina informed that Aaron Finch is not playing the game because his kit bag was lost. How the bag was lost was not revealed by the Gujarat Lions captain.

Mumbai Indians won the toss and decided to bowl first. However, the eyebrows were raised when Raina informed about Finch’s kit bag. Raina said that they were making two changes as Shadab Jakati and Aaron Finch misses out. They were forced to drop Finch because he lost his kit bag.

Murali Kartik, who was sitting in the IPL show Extra Innings said that players these days cannot play without proper kit because they have sponsorship commitment. What he meant is cricketers have different sponsors embossed on the jerseys and bats. Such reasons are not sporting at all but in a tournament like Indian Premier League, it becomes essential not to ignore such things.

Finch has been in good form for Lions and the team would hope that his absence is not felt in the match against Mumbai Indians. He has been replaced in the playing XI by England’s Jason Roy, who has struggled to get going in IPL 2017 so far.

This game is very important for Gujarat Lions as they have never lost single game against Mumbai Indians. If they manage to win on Sunday, it will be their third win against them and also their second in their home.

Okay, so this gets interesting. The sixteenth game of VIVO IPL 2017 is going to see Mumbai Indians taking on Gujarat Lions in their own backyard. On one side is Mumbai, who are in supreme form at the moment and on the other side are Gujarat, who have just tasted what wins feels like in IPL 2017.

Mumbai have not lost a single game thus far in IPL 2017 at home. They have outperformed and outclassed the opponents at Wankhede, fittingly making it their fortress this season. However, Gujarat, in their brief time in IPL thus far, have not lost a single game to Mumbai Indians. Last year, they even beat them in their own backyard.

The past record says that Mumbai Indians are yet to win a game against the resurgent Gujarat Lions as they have lost on both the occasions they met each other in IPL 2016.

The past records and the current form makes the Sunday battle between the two sides even more interesting. What adds value to the whole setup is the form of the players on both sides. On one end, you have the likes of Kieron Pollard, Pandya Brothers and on the other, you have Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina, who are looking in great touch at the moment.

Wankhede might see yet another close contest between two top-class IPL sides.

It is war time between Gujarat Lions and Mumbai Indians. These are two starry sides in terms of players as well as owners. Two Gujaratis own this team but it is the players who have made this team what it is.

We look at five key players who could shine on the game day.

Suresh Raina: The leader of the pack, Raina will be very crucial for Gujarat Lions as he bats at number 3 in the batting line-up. This position is ever more important for a team like Lions where the team is heavily depended on the top order. Nature of Raina’s role in the team depends on whether the Lions get a good start or a bad one. He will need to assess the situation quickly.

Kieron Pollard: The last game proved why he is a match-winner and why Mumbai camp gives him a long rope despite his prolonged failures with the bat. Pollard took Mumbai to victory from 7 for 4. This goes on to show his worth in the team and why Gujarat Lions should be wary of him.

Brendon McCullum: You cannot keep Brendon McCullum away from the game. If he starts playing his natural game there are not many bowlers in the world cricket who can stop him. The bat swing is just unmatched and class goes hand-in-hand with brutal hitting. Beware, Mumbai Indians, his form is picking up.

Pandya Brothers: Game after game, Pandya brothers have been showing why they were worth a gold. Wickets, runs, superb in the field and what not. They enjoy the game as nobody does. They have been the match-winners for Mumbai Indians and on Sunday, they might just continue their good run.

Andrew Tye: A hat-trick in the first game of IPL 2017 makes Andrew Tye a certain member in the playing XI of Gujarat Lions. He is in good form with the ball and Mumbai Indians should make sure they have a plan how to deal with him in the death overs.

It will be a daunting task for Gujarat Lions to make a statement against the in-form Mumbai Indians, who has won their last three matches in an emphatic manner. Gujarat Lions won their last match against Pune Supergiant as well but to beat Mumbai, they will have to push hard.

Mumbai Indians have one of the best playing XI at the moment, despite Ambati Rayudu and Lasith Malinga missing the last game. They have a quality bench strength as well with the likes of Mitchell Johnson and Southee warming it.

Gujarat had struggled to get their combination right. The arrival of Ravindra Jadeja has surely put them in a good position now. Also, the inclusion of Andrew Tye in the playing XI in the last game worked wonder for them as the bowler scalped a magnificent hat-trick.

Some sort of form as returned to the Suresh Raina-led side but they are still far from being at their best. Mumbai will again be the test of character for Gujarat and they better get their team combination issues sorted for this one.

Going by Raina’s method of play in IPL, he likes to stick to the same squad every match, if the team is winning. There is no reason why he should be making a change for Sunday’s clash as well. Same goes for Rohit as well. The team is doing well currently and it is just his form which is an issue. He, however, cannot drop himself from the team. He needs to lead from the front by batting well, not that he has not been leading brilliantly but his bat must now do the talking.

Kieron Pollard proved why he is always in the playing XI of the Mumbai Indians when he scored a match-winning 47-ball-70 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru.

Mumbai Indians were 7 for 4 when Pollard came out to bat and it looked like as if RCB was going to finish the formalities quickly. Another West Indian Samuel Badree had scalped hattrick in only his third over to cause a heart failure to Mumbai Indians. But it was Pollard who turned out to be the match-winner.

Samuel Badree wreck havoc with the ball in his first match of VIVO IPL 2017 as he took a hat-trick to dent the Mumbai Indians innings in the second over of the match.

Badree took three wickets on the trot, scalping the wickets of Parthiv Patel, Mitchell McClenaghan and Rohit Sharma to take RCB back in the game. In the first over of the innings, Stuart Binny got rid of dangerous Jos Buttler. But what Badree did was absolute carnage with the ball. It was a masterstroke decision by captain Virat Kohli to give the ball in hands of Samuel Badree who bowled just in the right areas.

He got Parthiv’s wicket by making him drive through the covers. Badree had intentionally put Chris Gayle at short cover position to take the catch and this is what happened.

Mumbai then did a KKR by sending Mitchell McClenaghan at number 4 to try and make some quick runs. The plan failed as he hit one up in the air. After the fall of the third wicket came Rohit Sharma, who was too lazy to come forward and before he knew the ball entered between his pad and bat to disturb his stumps, giving Samuel Badree a rare hattrick.

This is not the first time that Badree has taken spree of wickets at the start of the innings. In Big Bash League in 2016, he took five wickets for Brisbane Heat under the first six overs to dismantle the Melbourne Stars’ innings.

Samuel Badree has rocked the Mumbai top-order in their run-chase of 143 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in his first match for the franchise in the 2017 edition by claiming a hat-trick. He claimed the wickets of Parthiv Patel, Micthell McClenaghan and captain Rohit Sharma to complete his stunning hat-trick.

Mumbai Indians would have surely fancied their chances of chasing a low score of 143 down, but Samuel Badree had other plans turning the entire complexion of the match in the third over of the Mumbai Indians batting innings. This is not the first time where Badree has cleaned up a top order. He did a similar job for Brisbane Heat against Melbourne Stars, opening the bowling in the second innings in the 2016 edition of the Big Bash League. Due to this reason, Badree often opens the bowling despite being a spinner.

The first innings in the RCB vs MI game in Bengaluru belonged to Virat Kohli, who scored 62 runs off 46 balls to make a great comeback. After his departure, it was Rohit Sharma’s turn to turn the heads.

Virat Kohli scored a perfect fifty in his comeback game against Mumbai Indians in the twelfth match of the Indian Premier League. Kohli looked in supreme touch from the first ball, making sure they did not lose wicket in the first few years.

Mumbai Indians captain won the toss and elected to field first. Rohit, at the toss, said that he is looking to chase the target. Chasing has been the call of the captains this season and Rohit did not want to break any momentum. Mumbai Indians won their last two games chasing only and the team does not want to change anything.

RCB Captain Virat Kohli is back to the playing XI. He too wanted to bowl first. He said, “We too wanted to bowl first but there is nothing wrong with batting first. It is a good track and we expect to put good runs on the board.”

Royal Challengers Bangalore have a lot to think about before they enter the M Chinnaswamy stadium to play their first home game against Mumbai Indians on Friday.

Mumbai Indians have got on the track after winning the last two games in an emphatic manner. RCB are fighting many battles within battles. First, it was the spree of injuries which dented them and then the form of the players, which affected their start in the tournament. Now that Virat Kohli is back, they can take a sigh of relief. However, there is more headache ahead.

RCB might be playing at home but their record has not been a great one against Mumbai Indians in Bengaluru. Mumbai and Bangalore have played each other 7 times at M Chinnaswamy, out of which RCB has won just one game while Mumbai winning the remaining 6.

Even their overall record is not so much motivational. RCB has met MI 19 times in total and has lost on 11 occasions while winning 8 times. So, here too, MI has an edge over them.

But Virat Kohli and company would not like to dwell much into history. They are a new team and it will be a new day. History might not be their favour but the present is.

Brace yourself for the biggest battle thus far in IPL. In the first game today, Royal Challengers Bangalore are going to take on Mumbai Indians in M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru.

Not much can be said in terms of who is ahead in the game but one thing is for sure that this is going to be a closely-fought contest.

The one good sign that RCB has is the arrival of captain Virat Kohli in the playing XI. The 28-year-old passed the fitness test on Thursday and will be leading the side today.

He has been itching to get on the field. With him coming in the playing XI, expect a few changes to occur as well. Mandeep Singh might have to sit in this match. Also, RCB will look to give another chance to Aniket Choudhary who went for too many runs in the first game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

As far as Mumbai Indians are concerned, they have quickly fixed themselves after a bad start. The win against KKR gave them a huge boost and the confidence in their game was seen in the way they beat SRH in their last game.

In a shocking development, Rohit Sharma has announced that he has stepped down as the captain of Mumbai Indians. Rohit, who’s just made a comeback to cricket after a long lay-off, announced that “the burden of being just a talent, and now as a captain of an IPL franchise was just too much from me. I want to first fulfil the potential of being a talent, captaincy comes later”. This is quite shocking as never ever before as Rohit spoken about fulfilling the obvious talent that he’s filled with.

All good things come to an end. So did the 2-match winning streak of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2017 edition. Mumbai Indians put on a commanding all-round display to completely dismantle Hyderabad in every aspect of the game.

After electing to field first, Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh had the big task of bowling to David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan in the Powerplay. Bhajji especially was at his miserly best, not allowing any batsmen to get set and eventually settled for brilliant figures of 2/23 in his quota of 4 overs. While Dhawan and Warner both registered 40 plus scores in not so quick time, the pressure came on to the middle order of SRH, who were unable to capitalize on the start provided and with Bumrah coming out good finally in this tournament,eventually, Sunrisers had to settle for a pretty mediocre score of 158/8 in their quota of 20 overs.

All good things come to an end. So did the 2-match winning streak of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2017 edition. Mumbai Indians put on a commanding all-round display to completely dismantle Hyderabad in every aspect of the game.

After electing to field first, Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh had the big task of bowling to David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan in the Powerplay. Bhajji especially was at his miserly best, not allowing any batsmen to get set and eventually settled for brilliant figures of 2/23 in his quota of 4 overs. While Dhawan and Warner both registered 40 plus scores in not so quick time, the pressure came on to the middle order of SRH, who were unable to capitalize on the start provided and with Bumrah coming out good finally in this tournament,eventually, Sunrisers had to settle for a pretty mediocre score of 158/8 in their quota of 20 overs.

The home team Mumbai Indians grabbed their second victory of this season’s Indian Premier League and that too in absolute style. In what could have been an easy 180-220 score, Sunrisers Hyderabad only managed a mere 158 for 8 in 20 overs. And what was more surprising was the fact that no player from the visiting team even completed a half century. The closest who came was their skipper David Warner who scored a 34-ball 49, hitting seven boundaries and two maximums, Shikhar Dhawan, who scored 48 off 43 balls.

The openers did play well initially, but what Mumbai Indian’s bowlers threw at them, proved out to be too hot to handle. While they were 104 for 1 at one point, Mumbai Indian’s bowling brilliance only allowed them to add 54 more runs. And in the midst of all this, Jaspreet Bumrah and Harbhajan Singh picked up three and two wickets respectively.

In the tenth fixture of this season’s Indian Premier League, the defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad only manage 158 runs on the board, on a pitch that easily demands a score between 180-220 runs.

Even though the openers – Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner – played an 81-run partnership, the deliveries they consumed during the course proved out to be the clincher for the home team. Furthermore, the bowling statement of Mumbai Indians was too hot to handle during the entire course and the fall of wickets of Hyderabad exactly states the same. Jaspreet Bumrah notched up three wickets after giving away just 24 runs, while Harbhajan grabbed two wickets – which includes the all important dismissal of David Warner.

Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to field first against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the tenth game of Indian Premier League.

As expected, Sunrisers Hyderabad have brought in Mustafizur Rahman in place of Moises Henriques, who is down with an illness. They have one more change in form of Vijay Shankar, who comes in place of Bipul Sharma.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad will have a sweet headache going into the 10th match of the VIVO IPL 2017. They have a great pool of quality players to pick from and with Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman joining the squad on Wednesday, they will have a task in hand to select the final XI.

SRH coach Tom Moody has already stated that The Fizz will be playing for sure but the final call of who he will replace will be taken at the last moment. It is expected that it will be all-rounder Ben Cutting who will be making way for Mustazfizur Rahman. The last decision, however, might depend on what kind of pitch which is at offer at Wankhede.

On the other hand, Mumbai Indians will be looking to give a chance to Mitchell Johnson, who was in supreme form in Big Bash League this year. In the last match, Mitchell McClenaghan leaked way too many runs and it should be the right time for Indians to try and experiment.

The Mumbai Indians turned the heat up with the entire team in a new music video posted on Facebook. The team did an impromptu sing-and-dance routine to ‘Tonight’s Gonna Be a Good Night’ by Black Eyed Peas. The cricketers did a fun medley featuring each player edited into the video through the song. The video was posted on Facebook with the title, “Tonight’s gonna be a good night! Watch our boys bust a few moves in this special music video! #CricketMeriJaan”

The video comes right after the Mumbai Indians stormed through their first KKR match with a victory. The Mumbai Indians have a super fan following in India, with their regional fans in absolute excitement to their roaring start at the IPL. We hoped the master blaster and Mumbai Indians celebrity persona Sachin Tendulkar showed up in the video but, alas, the legend was absent from all the fun and celebration. The Mumbai Indians team are definitely going to be a force to reckon with, especially with power players like Nitesh Rana who was the undoubted man of the match in the last game.

The Mumbai Indians still have a long way to go, the team will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on 12th April, something that the team seems to be looking forward to, considering their epic parties to keep the winning streak in motion and positivity at an all-time high.

The match between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders promises to be a cracker of a contest. Mumbai and Kolkata are two of the biggest existing franchises in the history of the IPL and also the two of the most successful and popular ones. The contest between the two teams also has a fair amount of hype around it and this encounter promises to be no different.

There will be no shortage of superstars on display in this encounter between the two behemoths of the IPL. One can expect a starry night under the bright lights of the Wankhede stadium and these players could be expected to make a big contribution in this spectacle.

Kolkata Knight Riders are riding a wave of momentum after imparting a devastating defeat on Gujarat Lions in their opening match of the 10th edition of the IPL. Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, suffered a demoralizing defeat at the hands of their bitter rivals Rising Pune Supergiant in the Maharashtra derby. Now, Mumbai Indians will seek comfort in their fortress of Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, while Kolkata will look forward to carrying the momentum gained from the first match.

Openers Gautam Gambhir and Chris Lynn were in devastating form as they massacred the Gujarat bowlers creating the highest opening stand in IPL’s history. But facing the Mumbai bowlers will altogether be a different proposition, with a host of quality bowlers which they have in their squad. Mumbai also have one of the more balanced outfits in the iPL and one defeat to Rising Pune Supergiant doesn’t change the fact that they are capable of mounting a strong comeback in the tournament at any point in time.

Mumbai Indian coach Mahela Jayawardene has confirmed that their 31-year-old batsman Ambati Rayudu is ruled out for at least 7-8 days due to a grade 1 groin tear.

The Andhra-born, who was named in the Mumbai Indians’ squad for their clash against Rising Pune Supergiant, has now joined the long list of the injured players. During the 16th over of the second innings of the game at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, Rayudu was mysteriously stretched off the field. Commentator Sanjay Manjrekar, however, said:

What can one say more about Steve Smith! To state that the Australian skipper is in the form of his life would be a serious understatement. The Rising Pune Supergiants skipper has now brought his form into the IPL and has led Rising Pune Supergiant to a victory against the much more fancied Mumbai Indians. The Supergiant skipper scored an unbeaten 84 off 54 deliveries for Pune, helping them chase a high score of 185 which was set by the Mumbai Indians.

Pune got off to a brilliant start in the match, with Imran Tahir who was called up as a late replacement in the Pune squad for Ravichandran Ashwin bamboozling the Mumbai batsman. For a long time, it seemed as though they would be able to restrict the Mumbai Indians to a low score but Hardik Pandya had other ideas. In one of the brutal instances of hard hitting witnessed in the IPL, Pandya hit Pune pacer Ashok Dinda all over the park, smashing 30 runs of his final over to prop the Mumbai score to 184.

In the second match of the IPL between Rising Pune Supergiant and Mumbai Indians at the Maharashtra Cricket association in Pune, Rising Pune Supergiant/Mumbai Indians have won the toss and have elected to field first. The pitch is expected to be good for batting, unlike the pitch which was seen in the Test match between India and Australia, which was a rank turner.

In the second match of the 10th edition of the IPL between Rising Pune Supergiant and Mumbai Indians at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium in Pune, history will be created. It will be the first time in the history of IPL that Mahendra Singh Dhoni will not lead his franchise out on the field. MS Dhoni led Chennai Superkings in the first eight editions of the IPL and led Rising Pune Supergiant in their maiden campaign in the ninth edition. But after a disastrous debut season, Pune decided to bring in a change in leadership and replace MS Dhoni with Australian captain Steve Smith at the helm. The reason behind this decision given was that the team need fresh ideas from a young leader.

The second match of the 10th edition of the IPL between the two Maharashtra rivals, Rising Pune Supergiant and Mumbai Indians promises to be a feisty affair. Any match held between teams based out of the two cities of Mumbai and Pune always have an added layer of excitement. The rivalry between Rising Pune Supergiant and Mumbai Indians is relatively new, as the franchise in Pune was only established last year. For the teams to perform well, they will be banking on a few players to perform well in the match.

After an exhilarating start in the 10th edition of the IPL, with Sunrisers Hyderabad beating Royal Challengers Bangalore, the IPL now moves on to the second match of the season. And what a big match it is with the city of Pune hosting the Maharashtra derby between Rising Pune Supergiant and Mumbai Indians. Both teams head into the tournament with different burden of expectations on their shoulders with Mumbai Indians being one of the favorites to win the tournament and Rising Pune Supergiant being one of the underdogs.

Pune had a dismal campaign in the IPL last season and in order to change their fortunes, have gone to extreme lengths by sacking Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the captain and appointing Steve Smith in his place. They have also changed the name of the franchise, removing the last ‘s’ from Supergiants. They have also spent a large chunk of their auction purse to buy England all-rounder Ben Stokes. With his addition, Pune will get a fine balance in their squad, which they have sorely lacked last season.

Mumbai Indians before the start of 10th edition of IPL, have decided to felicitate the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh. The trio will be felicitated in the Ambani residence, according to reports.

The trio have been involved with the Mumbai Indians since the inception of IPL. Tendulkar retired from IPL as a player in 2013 but has been involved with the franchise in a mentorship role.

The function will take place to celebrate 10 years of Mumbai Indians as an IPL franchise. Mumbai have been one of the most successful and popular franchises in the history of the tournament, winning two IPL titles. They have also won two Champions League crowns. They also have arguably the biggest fan base of all the franchises, a title for which they compete with Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Mumbai Indians are one of the most followed teams in the IPL. The team has superstar players in their squad from top to bottom. They already had a very strong group of players in the previous edition. The theme of their signings in the auction was nostalgia, as they brought back a few players who were key members in their squad in the previous editions. The signings of Mitchell Johnson and Saurabh Tiwary were smart business decisions by the team management and so was the signing of Karn Sharma. They have also made some changes in their coaching staff, with Mahela Jayawardene taking over from Ricky Ponting as the head coach.

Rohit Sharma will play in the IPL, it has been confirmed. There was a lot of speculation surrounding the availability of the Mumbai Indians skipper in the tournament, but he and his Mumbai teammate Hardik Pandya have both been declared fit to participate in the tournament.

The BCCI has also confirmed the status of other Indian players, who have had a long home season in Test cricket, for the IPL. It has been confirmed that Virat Kohli will undergo shoulder rehabilitation and his progress will be assessed in the second week of April.

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